Storms tear through tents in Gaza, leaving Palestinians exposed to the elements

While a fragile ceasefire remains in place, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are living in makeshift tents after two years of Israeli strikes destroyed key infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands of people crowded into areas with almost no toilets, drainage or sanitation.

Two-month-old Muhammad Wissam Abu Harbid died Saturday due to the extreme cold, Palestinian health officials said, bringing the total number of infant deaths from the cold since the beginning of winter to four.

“Too many people in Gaza are still barely surviving,” the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) posted on X Sunday, saying aid was still being restricted.

“Displaced families are exhausted, hungry, and cold,” it said.

COGAT, the Israeli body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, said on X Friday that over 430,000 tents and tarpaulins had been taken into Gaza, with over 4,000 trucks carrying blankets and warm clothes.

“We will continue expanding our efforts, coordinating winter-related items upon requests from the organizations,” it said.

Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, told journalists in New York on Thursday that scaling up efforts remained a “critical priority,” with the entry of essential supplies still being denied.

“These are people trying to survive winter in extremely fragile conditions,” he said.

Palestinians are spending their third winter displaced, said Sam Rose, acting director of Gaza affairs at UNRWA, adding that insufficient items for shelter had entered the enclave.